This is the secret ingredient for the tastiest butter chicken
Lately, I’ve been slightly obsessed with Indian food — I just can’t get enough of it. And that’s especially bad news for my wallet, because I can never make it taste as delicious as it does at the Indian restaurant around the corner. By now, I’m a regular there, but who knows, that may soon change: I’ve found the secret ingredient for the tastiest butter chicken.
Formally speaking, this ingredient is part of the butter chicken recipe, but it is often left out. A shame, because you can even buy it at Albert Heijn — although fresh is, of course, often tastier.
Already familiar with Kasuri Methi?
Never heard of it? In the Netherlands, we call it fenugreek leaves. In terms of flavor, dried fenugreek leaves are somewhat reminiscent of celeriac and fennel, but they also have a slight bitterness. The leaves, especially in North India, are often crumbled over meat and vegetable curries at the end.
At the Asian grocery store or supermarket
Fresh fenugreek leaves are still difficult to find, but you can at least find dried leaves at the Asian grocery store (Tjin’s, for example) and at Albert Heijn, among others. If you can’t find them, you could also use celery leaves. And how much? That’s entirely a matter of taste; I use about a teaspoon or slightly more per sauce (for 3 to 4 people). Not much, then, but it really does make a difference.
Fenugreek: versatile
In authentic Indian cuisine, fenugreek is also always used in cooking, especially in butter chicken — but it is fantastic in butter paneer too. It also tastes great when you want to make dal at home, and fenugreek can even work wonderfully in naan. So be sure to experiment with it when cooking Indian food, because this really is going to be a game changer . How about this Indian chicken curry with fenugreek? So delicious! One more tip: try making onion soup with fenugreek.
Once you’ve discovered this herb, the possibilities are endless. All right, one more fantastic recipe with fenugreek: jumbo prawns with tomato and fenugreek.
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